With the anticipated ban of long-established sprout suppressant, Chlorpropham, imminent, research from AHDB on the use of spearmint oil under different storage conditions could help growers to find an alternative control strategy. CPM reports.
Commonly marketed as Biox-M, spearmint oil has been a tool in the armoury for potato growers looking to tackle sprouting issues since licensing in 2012. Small-scale and commercial trials have demonstrated its efficacy for the fresh pack market – as well as some proven success in pre-pack supply chains. As well as supressing sprout growth, it can also rapidly burn back existing sprouts and has been successfully used for recovering commercial packing crops in this way.
Due to the warmer temperatures of the processing sector – compared to cooler pre-pack storage – sprouting is often more vigorous and therefore requires repeat applications and subsequently has increased cost implications.
Knowledge gap
While previous research at experimental and semi-commercial scale has shed more light on suitable storage conditions for effective control of sprouting with spearmint oil, the AHDB reckons further research is required. This will enable the assessment of spearmint oil under different storage situations and therefore provide growers with sprout control strategies to suit their situation.
AHDB is currently in the second year of study of the processing variety trial – as well as a newly commissioned study with pre-pack varieties – with results anticipated to be available in mid-summer 2019.
